Autumn's Final Dynasty

There was no nine-tailed red panda. Sages who studied demons agreed. But if such a creature existed, he would have looked a lot like Renjie. A couple years shy of twenty, Ganimedzu-no-kami Renjie barely passed for two years more than twelve. His mother was the Fifth Consort. That made him the Fourth Prince. His younger sister was the Sixth Princess. They were almost a straight flush. Originally from Warakirikobu Archipelago, the Fifth Consort was famed for her charm and calligraphy. Because the consorts were done making princes, and the empress was done consenting to new consorts, Renjie had a lock on his status as royal baby boy.

As the youngest and least likely prince to become someone important, Renjie enjoyed a freedom found in irrelevance. Innately reclusive, he hid in the imperial compound atop Jade Palace Mound for most of his earlier years. Way up there, it was possible to read naughty illustrated novels and explore granite cracks in peace.

Though small even by the standards of Warakirikobu's elfin population, climbing around on a lump of granite sacred to ancient giants made what little body the Fourth Prince had quite strong. Also quite tan. Though reclusive, Renjie was not shy – and liked to prove he could challenge cliffs with only his bare essentials. Also, he was an exhibitionist. Being cuter than a demonic red panda got the Fourth Prince out of many scandals.

More recently, however, he had started exploring Great Yao's great capital.

Built upon the River Feng's alluvial plain, Tianming Town hosted a million residents and "two million pavilions." There were a lot of cracks to explore. Renjie had considered wandering around the city as a naked beggar. Maybe he would buy a begging license from Raggedy Star Alliance. People would give him money because he was cuter than a demonic red tailed panda. But that would make him feel bad. As Fourth Prince, Renjie didn't lack for money. Instead of giving their hard-earned coins to him, patrons should patronize people who needed the cash.

Renjie put a coin in a beggar's box.

That night he had gambling on his mind, anyway. The Fourth Prince wasn't interested in gambling so much as gamblers. They had a lot of energy and their lives were almost always tragic. Unfortunately, gambling parlors refused entry to anyone not wearing shoes. Renjie occasionally wore only socks, but wearing only shoes would have been too silly even for him.

Warakirikobu was humid. Warakirikobans favored gauzy, nearly transparent clothing cut into simple shapes and splashed with dramatic colors. Renjie considered his own skin more fabulous than the finest silk, but Warakirikobans were rarer at the center of the universe than the Raggedy Star Alliance's beggars. It was an alliance, after all. Warakirikoban clothes therefore made the Fourth Prince stand out. Five foot four and too thin to see, Renjie needed all the help he could get when it came to standing out.

He entered an establishment full of elegant thieves and fashionable hustlers.

"My warlock said I would get lucky tonight!" he told the madam.

Ganimedzu-no-kami Renjie spoke with a pouty Warakirikoban accent. It was adorable.

"Insouciant Scholar brings good fortune wherever he goes!" the madam replied.

Renjie was proud of inventing the Insouciant Scholar. He couldn't frequent gambling parlors as Prince of Su. House Yao had a reputation for clean living – and most members lived even more cleanly than that. It was practically a scandal how cleanly they lived. The madam (an elderly gentleman who answered to the handle "Pikapeko"), twirled Renjie to a teller.

After withdrawing funds, Renjie drifted through an enchanted cavern of worked stone, carved wood, drifting curtains – and mobile bartenders. The Insouciant Scholar preferred his beverages extra fruity and barely alcoholic, but paid double to compensate for the trouble of making them. That made Renjie everyone's favorite. Hosts and hostesses chatted with him even when he didn't pay to call them over. Other patrons initially resented the Insouciant Scholar. Why should someone get all the girls and boys just because he was rich and cuter than a demonic red panda?

It wasn't fair.

Eventually other patrons realized that if all the girls and boys gravitated to wherever Renjie was, wherever Renjie was… was the place to be.

The Fourth Prince slammed into the smooth, shallow cleavage of a much taller young man.

Thin and trim, the taller young man was accompanied by three other young men of varying heights. Renjie stamped an adorable foot. This nonsense was getting out of hand! Someone pretty could toss a handkerchief anywhere in Tianming Town, and a dozen young "heroes" would jump off nearby rooftops to fight for the honor of catching it.

Renjie wasn't sure who these four young heroes were, exactly.

In addition to the imperial family, Great Yao had five dukes – one for each cardinal direction, and one for Tianming Town. Each duke had four earls. Each earl had four counts. Renjie was already losing track of who anybody was, and each count had between three and five barons. Recently, barons had been demoted to the imaginary rank of high status commoner instead of low status nobility.

In recognition of great deeds (particularly the great deed of contributing to the state), some families received the rank of Marquis directly from the Emperor. Then there were the bourgeois officials – ministers, directors, administrators, and judges. Then there were military bigwigs. Then there were city officials. And merchant guilds. And martial arts societies.

One or two hundred million people lived in Great Yao.

Half were "lords" of something.

It wasn't that Renjie failed to see the tall, thin young hero. He had expected the tall, thin young hero to move out of the way. People usually moved out of Renjie's way. Yes, yes, he was under cover. The Insouciant Scholar fondled his obstacle's smooth chest. Not bad. The young hero also had a yummy smell. Thick enough to taste, it was literally delicious. A little earthy, a little bitter, with a puff of smoke, a dash of salt – and a whiff of musky dampness. Renjie moved his tiny nose closer for more in-depth analysis. Something mysterious was going on.

A palm blocked his path at the last moment. It tasted salty.